Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Dear Lenni... and a Great Tip!

Dear Lenni,Last September I fell in love with you in Portland. You agreed to come home with me and my heart sang! There was to be a short wait while you made your journey to the Squash House, but in the meantime I made preparations for your arrival. I cleared a lovely space for you to reside and made sure everything was spic and span. Time passed with no word from you and I was so worried that something bad had happened. When you finally contacted me, you explained that you would be slightly delayed due to unforseen circumstances. No matter - I was so happy to hear that you were OK and agreed to patiently await your arrival. More time passed with no word and I was beginning to think I had been jilted by you....had I fallen in love with a Gigolo - no - it couldn't be true. I gathered my courage and called to see where you were. Your explanation was that you still loved me, but there were more unforseen circumstances to delay your arrival. I pined away for you all during the Christmas holidays. Had I made a terrible mistake? Did I read your signals wrong? Oh, how my heart bled. Two weeks ago I gathered up my courage and called you again. You said it looked like you might be on your way to me sometime around the 19th. What happy news! Then on Monday after another call to you, my heart sank - it might be some more time before you could make an appearance. It was only then that I weighed my feelings about you - and decided you were not the one for me. So little contact over four months, so much heartbreak on my end. It's over. I've decided to end our brief affair.

So long,

Candace

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Are you wiping away tears now? Please don't cry! Lenni is now a fling of the past! My new love is the Gammill Vision 18-8 stitch-regulated longarm! The dealer will be here Friday afternoon to set it up and train me! Oh, Joy!

Have you ever cleaned the underside (the side that rides on the fabric while cutting) of your rulers? Recently I was cutting the setting pieces for my Designer Mystery BOM and was frustrated because the rulers kept slipping. It occured to me that in all the years I have had these rulers, they have picked up tons of sizing from the fabric. I'm one of those who doesn't pre-wash fabrics, so you can imagine how much crud must have been on them! Well, I grabbed my trusty Windex and cleaned the underside of the two rulers on the left - did a little cutting, and Voila! - no more slippage! If you click on the photo you will see that the ruler on the right has a slightly milky look to it compared to the two on the left - that's because I haven't yet cleaned it. Give this a try with your rulers and tell me if you notice a difference like I did!

Friday Mr. Squash will be snapping photos of my new Gammill as it is being set up and I'm trained. Stay tuned for what is sure to be a fun post!

Yipee!! I'm so happy for you and excited!!! Honestly, yes I almost shed a tear. Lenni was a complete tease!! :-) I just can't wait until Friday for you. I'll be expecting a full report after this weekend.You are so smart! Genius. I've never thought about cleaning my rulers before. Makes so much sense. Is Windex not the best stuff EVER? I, too do not wash my fabric AND I spray even more sizing on them! It's a good thing I can't see right now or I'd probably be disgusted! :-)

Too bad that Lenni, had such a hard time getting his act together. I think you made the right move, sounds like Gammill will be there for you and that is what you need.I have never cleaned my rulers. Guess I have work to do.

Love your Dear Lenni letter. Can't wait too see you quilting away! Never heard that about the rulers. I have Omnigrip on mine but maybe I need to"re-grip" them because they too slide once in awhile. Great tip...thanks!

How exciting for you! My daughter is dating a boy with the last name Gammill and the first thing I thought of was, "I wonder if I can get a deal on a machine from him?" LOL! Of course I knew he wasn't related but it made me smile. I'm excited to see your post on it and I hope Mr. Squash gets lots of fun pictures of you.

Good decision, I believe they are all good machines, just like cars. I love my Nolting, they've been fantastic to me, and I've played on an A-1 and I love that one too. Have a blast with your new best friend! Thanks for the cleaning tip!

Things happen for a reason. I'm guessing that you and your Gammi were meant to be. Looking forward to Happy Friday. Thanks for the tip on ruler cleaning - it's been a long while since I thought to do that!

So glad I tripped over your blog. Your letter to Lenni gave me the best belly laugh I've had in quite a while. Thankyou, it's done me the world of good! I have had a TinLizzie18LS (stitch regulated)for about 2 years. Since owning my machine I've done a lot more research into longarms and I think you have made a really good choice. The Gammills seem to be a better machine from all the reading I've done. I think the Lenni are more for the hobby quilter, like mine. In retrospect I wish I'd spent a bit more and bought a professional machine. You must be so excited, you are about to embark on a wonderful journey! If you haven't already, check out a site, Machine Quilters Resource, it is a fabulous place to get help, learn and just drool over other quilter's work. There is a free section and the membership cost me only $26 per year in Australian dollars so may be cheaper for you. Good luck, Rowena

I look forward to the pictures of you and your new "companion"... taken by your husband? He's an understanding man, that husband of yours. :)

And your idea for cleaning you rulers... oh my gosh! You're brilliant! A genius! I never, ever, EVER would have thought of that and since I use starch and/or sizing, I am sure I have the same gunky crud on my rulers. Thank you for the terrific tip!

I thought I was reading wrong in the first post that you were getting a Gammill but now I see it is right. Well, that is too bad that Lenni would not hold up to his side of the bargain.Yay! for Gammill for being quick on the draw.